April 16, 2024
Dr. Bill Cohen receives 2023-24 Provost’s Award for Teaching Excellence and Innovation
The Provost’s Award for Teaching Excellence and Innovation celebrates outstanding faculty members from UBC’s Okanagan campus who demonstrate preeminence in educational leadership, innovation, and teaching while embodying a commitment to inclusion, diversity, equity and anti-racism, thus elevating teaching and learning on campus and beyond.
This year, Dr. Bill Cohen (OSE) has been selected as the recipient of the Provost’s Award for Teaching Excellence and Innovation for his remarkable contributions, passion, and dedication to fostering reconciliation and decolonization through education.
Dr. Cohen, a member of the Okanagan Nation with extensive kinship ties across British Columbia and Washington, has dedicated more than 25 years to advancing Indigenous knowledge, research, education, and pedagogical transformation. He actively engages in community-driven initiatives as a parent, volunteer, advisor, facilitator, and director while also embodying the roles of educator, artist, storyteller, and author.
His ongoing research focuses on uncovering, comprehending, and conceptualizing the transformative potential inherent in Indigenous and Okanagan knowledge and pedagogy, mainly through revitalizing organic language and cultural understanding. His educational initiatives include organizing numerous community, school, arts, language, literacy, and numeracy projects and fostering intergenerational collaboration among elders, fluent speakers, teacher candidates, parents, and children.
The impact of his work has been recognised by his colleagues and students, who praise his transformative contributions and leadership in reshaping education. He will be recognized at the UBC Okanagan 2024 Teaching Awards Ceremony on May 14, 2024.
To learn more, read the Office of the Provost and Vice-President, Academic’s announcement and visit the Teaching Awards page.
Teaching Excellence Celebration
The campus community is invited to celebrate and recognize the achievements of UBC Okanagan teachers and mentors and celebrate our community of teaching excellence.
Date: Tuesday, May 14, 2024
Time: 4 pm to 6 pm | Award presentation followed by a reception
Location: UBC Ballroom | UNC 200
If you have not received an invitation and wish to attend, please contact okanagan.ceremonies@ubc.ca to RSVP.
